DECEMBER 2019

Leveraging the power of translational research

Update on recent MI4 Seed Fund Grant calls Gear, Icon, Service, Configuration, Development, Tools

It was a busy Fall for the MI4 community, with application deadlines for the first iteration of the MI4 Pediatric Seed Fund Grant program and Round 2 of the MI4 Seed Fund Grant program occurring in September and November respectively. There was an excellent response to both calls, with a total of 30 applications received between the two programs. External peer review is currently underway for each call. Click here to access the Request for Proposals for either program.

The results of the MI4 Pediatric Seed Fund Grant competition will be announced in early 2020, with up to two grants supported. Co-supported by the Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation and the CHU Ste-Justine Foundation, this new initiative fosters the establishment of new, inter-institutional translational research teams linking pediatric investigators at the Montreal Children’s Hospital and the CHU Ste Justine.

The results of Round 2 of the MI4 Seed Fund Grant program will be announced in Spring 2020, with up to five grants awarded. The SFG program aims to establish new, interdisciplinary translational research teams across multiple McGill sites to seed new and innovative research.

MI4 Flagship Programs: Open for business

Open Sign, Sign, Signage, Neon, Light, Bright, Open MI4 is supporting the development of flagship interdisciplinary programs that bring together McGill researchers and clinicians to address major infectious and immune threats to human health. To this end, MI4 is working with leading researchers, University Advancement, the MUHC Foundation and other hospital foundations to mobilize the resources required to develop large-scale, compelling initiatives with the potential to demonstrate real-world impact in the short to medium term.

MI4 now invites researchers from within the MI4 community to submit new MI4 Flagship Program applications on a rolling basis. Successful Applications will be added to the roster of accepted Flagship Programs for which MI4 is working with fundraisers to mobilize resources. Click here to access the Request for Proposals >>>

Co-Funding Available for Grant Applications or Meetings

MI4 is eager to support investigators from all sites within the McGill community with Co-Funding Support for Grant Applications and Co-Funding Support for Meetings. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and must be within the scope of one of the four MI4 themes. A few examples of meetings that took place this fall that received MI4 co-funding support include: Quebec Microbiome Research Symposium, Montreal Neuroinflammation Symposium, and the Chemistry and Immunology Symposium (part of the 2019 International Drug Discovery and Development Forum) and the Canadian Inflammatory Myopathy Study (CIMS) 2019 Symposium. Apply now >>>

Under Development:

McGill Centre for Microbiome Research

Close Up Photography of Yellow Green Red and Brown Plastic Cones on White Lined Surface We are excited to announce development of the McGill Centre for Microbiome Research (proposed title). This new Centre will build on a foundation of newly-minted MI4-supported research platforms including the downtown McGill campus MI4 Microbiome Research Platform - that focuses on bioinformatics and cultivation of the microbiota - and the MUHC-RI MI4 Gnotobiotic Animal Research Platform that permits in vivo manipulation and testing of diverse microbiomes using animal models. Leading the charge to establish the Centre is Dr. Irah King, Director of the MI4 Gnotobiotic Animal Research Platform and member of the MI4 Scientific Advisory Committee.

An initial meeting to discuss the vision of the Centre and other priority topics will take place at the downtown McGill University Campus on January 14th. Interested parties please contact Dr. Irah King at irah.king@mcgill.ca.

Under Development:

McGill Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Centre

Under the auspices of MI4 and leadership of Dr. Dao Nguyen, we are developing a McGill Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Centre (proposed title) to bring together researchers working on AMR-relevant topics, spanning microbiology, medicine, chemistry, biochemistry, engineering and beyond. The goal of the Centre is to foster collaborative and interdisciplinary research, and facilitate team funding and training opportunities on AMR-relevant topics. In response to an initial call of interest, over 25 faculty members met on Oct 18th, 2019 to discuss the vision and priorities for the Centre, while many others have expressed interest. An executive committee is currently working on the AMR Centre proposal.

Stay tuned for upcoming Centre and AMR activities including:

“Meet your AMR colleagues” events: come share your interests and expertise, learn about your colleagues’, meet your next collaborator. Planned for Feb, with details to come.
Workgroups to brainstorm and develop team projects for upcoming funding calls (e.g. Genome Canada).
AMR course within the McGill Summer Institute for Infectious Diseases and Global Health (course director Dr. Makeda Semret) http://mcgill-idgh.ca/courses/antimicrobial-resistance/
Microbial Library: we are building a library of bacterial strains as a resource for the McGill research community and want your feedback (leads Drs. Todd Lee and Dao Nguyen).

Please feel free to contact Dao (dao.nguyen@mcgill.ca) with any questions or suggestions.

Under Development:

Mark Wainberg Centre for Viral Diseases

After two years of careful planning and development, the Mark Wainberg Centre for Viral Diseases (proposed title) has begun to take shape. Built on the existing McGill AIDS Centre, the Centre will be home to more than forty McGill faculty members who will tackle major public-threatening viral diseases including HIV, hepatitis viruses, HPV, influenza virus, Dengue virus, Zika virus, Ebola virus, and others, through conducting world class biomedical, clinical, social and population research.

Together, the members have put forward a proposal for the Centre, with support from national and international leaders and experts in the field of infectious diseases. This proposal has been discussed by the Faculty of Medicine’s Faculty Leadership Commons and Faculty Council, and will soon be presented to the University for approval. This exercise has been strongly supported by the McGill research community, MI4, McGill departments, and affiliated hospitals and research institutes including the Lady Davis Institute for Medical Research at the Jewish General Hospital.

As mentioned elsewhere in this newsletter, the Centre sent out a strong message at the World AIDS Day (December 1^st) stating that, by working together, we can end the HIV epidemic. As well, the Centre is organizing the first HIV course to be presented at the McGill Summer Institute in 2020. Looking forward, we expect the official approval and the launch of the Centre in 2020, coinciding with celebrations of the 30^th anniversary of the McGill AIDS Centre. For all inquiries please contact Dr. Chen Liang, Interim Director of the McGill AIDS Centre and member of the MI4 Scientific Advisory Committee. Dr. Liang can be reached at chen.liang@mcgill.ca.

How we can end the HIV/AIDS epidemic:

Dr. Chen Liang in the Montreal Gazette

In case you missed it: earlier this month, in recognition of World AIDS Day, the Montreal Gazette published an excellent opinion piece by Dr. Chen Liang, Interim Director of the McGill AIDS Centre and member of the MI4 Scientific Advisory Committee. Read it here >>>

MI4 researchers visit the

Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI)

In Fall 2019 a delegation of MI4 researchers visited the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig, Germany. Based on identified synergies between the two organizations, MI4 and HZI are exploring opportunities to pursue collaborations in areas of mutual interest, such as personalized infection medicine. Scientists from MI4 and HZI presented their research on topics related to infection, spanning from global health to epigenomics to trained innate immunity and the microbiota. The MI4 delegation visit to Germany was a return visit to the participation of an HZI delegation at a mini symposium held in Montreal in May 2019. Stay tuned for more on MI4-HZI collaboration in 2020. Learn more >>>

Wrap Up: Fall 2019 MI4 Events

In November 2019, MI4 researchers came together for the 3^rd Annual MI4 Fall Strategic Forum at Thomson House. The program included discussion on the MI4 Business Plan, the development of an MI4 Training Program, Patient Engagement and more. Via breakout group discussions, MI4 was able to gather important feedback and input from the MI4 community on these topics, contributing towards defining future paths for MI4 activities. Thank you to all who participated!

Also in November, two MI4 Dragons’ Den events took place at Bar George. MI4 Flagship Program leads presented five-minute presentations of their proposals to non-academic community leaders. Dragons’ Den events offer an opportunity for investigators to pitch their work to an audience of philanthropically-minded individuals, and receive feedback to help refine their message.

MI4-CRBS Meet Your Colleagues event: January 8, 2020

Background, Abstract, Line, Illustration, Geometric MI4 and the Centre de recherche en biologie structurale (CRBS) are joining forces to co-host a “MI4-CRBS Meet Your Colleagues” lunch time networking event in early January. The event will take place on Wednesday, January 8th, 12:00-1:30 PM in Room 908 of the McIntyre Building at the McGill downtown campus (3655 Promenade Sir-William-Osler).

The goal of the event is to foster familiarity, ties and potential collaborations between members of the two groups. It will be an informal event with minimal presentations, and will involve networking and discussion over a catered sushi lunch.

For MI4 researchers, this event will be of interest to those who have ever considered answering a question relating to structural biology. For CRBS researchers, this event will be a great way to link to more clinical and direct health aspects of your research interests. For all, it will be a great way to get to know McGill colleagues and to find out about their exciting research.

To RSVP, please complete the following registration form: https://forms.gle/AtSc6nrB5woZoeyn7

Please note that the deadline to register is Sunday, January 5th. We hope that you can make it!

8^th Annual TB Research Day: March 23, 2020

The 8th Annual TB Research Day will take place on March 23rd, 2020. Part of the day’s activities will include a screening of the documentary How to Survive a Plague covering the efforts of activist groups during the early years of the AIDS epidemic. The film screening will be co-hosted by the McGill TB Centre, McGill Global Health Programs, McGill AIDS Centre and MI4. More info coming soon >>>

2020 Summer Institute in Infectious Diseases and Global Health:

Now Accepting Applications

The 2020 edition of the Summer Institute will take place June 1-12, 2020 at McGill University, featuring eight diverse courses. This year’s topics include three TB courses offered by faculty from the McGill International TB Centre with focuses on quality, diagnostics, and research methods. Also returning are courses on antimicrobial resistance and an introduction to qualitative research methods. Clinicians and researchers alike may be interested in the tropical medicine clinical update taught by the J.D. MacLean Centre for Tropical Diseases or the new course on ending HIV established by faculty from the McGill AIDS Centre. To round out the 2020 offerings, we welcome back the course on humanitarian work in the 21st century and the biggest current challenges. For the complete 2020 course schedule and all dates, consult the website and brochure.